Nick DiVito, 9, received a commendation from the Deptford Fire Department on Friday afternoon for saving his mother from a potential house fire.

Nick, who has Asperger’s syndrome, woke up at about 7:15 on the morning of Nov. 21 and smelled smoke. Neither he nor his mother, Jackie Nebel, were due to get out of bed for another 15 minutes when Nicholas discovered that a large box fan in Nebel’s room had caught fire.

“I was sound asleep,” said Nebel, a former EMT and firefighter. “Usually I have to wake him up in the morning, but I heard him yell, ‘Mom! Fire!’

If he had not been there at that exact moment, my house would’ve gone up in flames. This was not a coincidence. This was a blessing.”

Nick thought carefully, using fire safety training he had learned in school.

“I was focused, and I tried not to scream,” he said. “I remembered to be calm, and to get everyone out of the house.”

Nebel was able to grab the fan and throw it out the front door, stopping the fire before it required so much as a 911 call. She was aware that it could have been much worse.

“It could’ve gone up in seconds,” she said. “You don’t realize how much that stuff means until it happens to you.”

Fire marshal Robert Burkhardt was glad to see the training had made an impression on Nick.

“He did everything right,” said Burkhardt. “His actions prevented injury to himself and to his mother. I’m very proud of him. I’m happy to see the education we’re giving these kids, it worked. He retained it.”

Nebel said Nick’s actions were impressive for a 9-year-old, let alone a child with a condition that falls on the autism spectrum.

“When kids like that get excited, they lose control. They’re all over the place,” Nebel said. “Every day I have to fight with him to wake him up for school. The way he acted so calm and so cool, it’s a big deal. He’s my hero.”